Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Thankfulness is not trite. It can be portrayed as such, but in actuality, it is quite a bit more. Being face to face with someone who wants to express his/her gratitude to you is humbling, heartfelt and, well, special. When those in my lifetime have sat me down to express a sentiment of thankfulness or if I have received a note to say as such, I am always taken aback.It reminds me that my life means much more to many more than I realize. It's so very easy to be swallowed by duty and responsibility. I have a family, a job, a church...I define myself by function. And yet, what matters most is not those roles but the way in which those roles impact the relationships connected - the people who value the work I do, the involvement in my church programs or the love in action for my family. I define my life by what I do. Gratitude shakes me back to what my life should really be about - relationships.

The story of my life has been marked by incredible difficulty and incredible pain, but those things do not define me. If it does, it takes my eyes off of the incredible beauty and incredible blessing in my life. So many people, so much love, so much to appreciate. Each one of us has a decision to make each day - am I going to be a benefit or a distraction to those around me? I can control my behavior...I am not a victim. I can rise above the pettiness around me, if there is any. I can choose to be a beacon of positivity in my work culture. I can be grateful for where I am.Gratitude is powerful. I am amazed constantly at the impact of being thankful. I don't know why I am amazed. I have seen it happen plenty. But I forget so easily.During this week where it's easy and convenient to be thankful, let's think about ways that we can be more grateful all year. I know that I can raise high the banner for what it will do to the workplace or to the family, but I think it's more than that. When a habit of gratitude is lived, a life is really lived.The story of my life needs to be about being thankful. This isn't about self-help. It's not about being a great leader. It's not about being a good employee. It's about you. All of those things mentioned will happen when you're grounded. And gratitude is grounding.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Performance reviews always make me smile. All of the preparation put into it by
managers and supervisors is overwhelming.
The stress level is high. The
loathing of the review by the preparer sets in deeply. Resentment over spending a weekend or two to get
them done overflows into a negative reaction concerning other components of the
job. And let’s not forget the anxiety of
the recipient of the review. They hope
for a good appraisal so that the raise they expect/deserve happens.

Isn’t it a great cycle?
Every year, six months or maybe even quarterly, a manager and a subordinate
sit together to review that subordinate’s performance. The process can be draining. I was just asked to review a particular company’s
performance review plan. The actual review
was six pages to complete (Yikes!). One
manager has 20 employees that report to him.
Wow! No wonder his response is to
hate these reviews. They take an
incredible amount of time.

And what about those reviews, especially if they are annual,
that connect directly to compensation.
If you hit a 3.4 average, you get a 3% raise, but if you hit a 3.3
average, you only get a 1.5% raise. How
many managers have to alter scores so that the employee gets the raise? Is that a real review of performance or just
documentation to file so that a raise can be given?

Part of the basis of philosophy on performance reviews has
to be considered. Why are they being
done? To justify a raise? To merely say
they are being done? Why? If the reason is to actually honestly review
the performance of the employee, then we’ve got it right.

So many managers struggle to be honest about
performance. They know that a certain
employee will flip his/her lid and make things really difficult moving
forward. Really? That’s a reason to curtail a review? It sounds like this person should be
encouraged out of the organization. I
mean, who’s in charge? If performance
standards are not being met and the recipient is belligerent about it, then I
don’t see why we’d waste time coaching someone who does not feel he/she needs
it. Move on.

The review is not only a time to tell someone what’s wrong,
but also what’s been really good. It’s
more than okay to tell them something good.
Be honest about it, though. Don’t
make up stuff. And don’t try to compare
an innocuous “good” thing to a really bad performance reality. For instance:

“Jim, thanks so much for being
great during the holiday food drive. You
brought in more canned goods than anyone else.
Fantastic. But you know, the
financial analysis work you’re doing seems to be missing a few components each
time and it has not improved. We’ve
talked about this before and I am not seeing much improvement.”

Are we really going to compare the holiday food drive
participation (non-work essential) to a core job function (directly work
essential)? The employees we speak with
are not stupid (I know, there are exceptions) and can see that there isn’t much
good you have to share if the best you can come up with is that he brought more
cans of creamed corn in than anyone else.
Let’s think critically on our part and provide dignity on the part of
the employee. If the best we got is
creamed corn, then shouldn’t we try to move this person out of the organization
or at least to a different area where his skills would better align?

Reviews are to be just that – reviews. There should not be anything discussed in the
formality of the sit-down that someone hasn’t heard previously. Using the example above, the supervisor
reminds Jim that they had discussed his missteps with financial analysis before
– perfect. Now, the review provides an
opportunity to right the ship, if it’s not already happened. Develop a plan and a range of results
expected with the employee. Use the
sit-down to establish parameters.

The busyness of the daily workload can be prohibitive to
formal objectives, but the review provides a dedicated time to develop those
goals and objectives. The employee
should have a voice in the development of those goals, so use part of that time
to do so. It takes some of the pressure
off of the manager if he/she can get participation in success.

I know that in one blog article, we can’t solve the world’s
problems with performance reviews, but we can start. Think through what you and your company are
doing. Is it working? If not, what has to change? Are you seeking help, if needed, to
restructure? If it’s working, why? Keep those core truths close and make
decisions that support them. If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it.

The first performance review I received had all 5’s on it
and one 3. The three was for employee
communications – how I spoke to other employees. Two things, even in my early 20’s, struck me
with this. One, I knew I wasn’t a 5 in
everything. No way. And the second, for me to get a 3 in one area
that had never been spoken about to me previously, must mean that I really
stink at it. I was dejected that this
was a reality that no one shared with me. I would have addressed it in
myself. I was a little bitter towards
the manager. I was unhappy with this
bomb (in my estimation) being dropped.
Oh, and by the way, I got my raise.
Effective? Hmmmmmm…